Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Jerry - the Rick 620 is good and plenty!

(try getting THAT out of your head)

Can anybody shed any light on the Epiphone Casino used by Daniel Kessler of Interpol? At first glance it looks like a standard sunburst model. there's two differences from the production model however. Firstly, and rather obviously, it sports the frequensator tailpiece instead of the normal trapeze. Now this isn't all that shocking as I've seen a few late 60s ones with the frequensator. The biggest difference though, is where the neck joins the body. Kessler's neck joins the body much later than normal casinos. Has anybody seen this before? It almost looks like its a riviera with P-90s put in it or something.

Kessler

Standard

Look at the difference in pickguard length near the neck. Also note tailpieces

My buddy Tom is Sam Fogarino's cousin(the drummer).

Tom and I have talked about that Casino in the past but I can't remember all the details. I emailed Tom and once I hear back I'll post.

Awesome Jeff!

Interpol are pretty much all I can think about right now.

Ask him why the hell he doesn't use his Ric anymore while you're at it!

That looks the same as this 1968 Casino for sale on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1968-Epiphone-Casino-Kalamazoo-Made_W0QQitemZ7342572924QQcategoryZ33037QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Mitch: Yeah, that one one Ebay looks very much like it. I don't know if it's just me, but these guitars seem to have longer looking bodies than the Casinos I've owned. And note how far forward the bridges are with reference to the F-holes. I've seen a Riviera fitted with P90 pick-ups and it came out looking similar to this. I'm far from an expert on Gibson guitars, but I wonder if they used the same body/neck on both Rivieras and Casinos in the late 1960's (before they were sent offshore). It's interesting to note that this Casino has the knobs and tailpiece usually seen on Rivieras as well. I've owned (6) Casinos and none of them have had longer bodies or different neck joints like these.

Another thought. I wonder if these guitars are full hollowbody (like a Casino) or if they have a solid center block (like a Riviera). It would be interesting to know. It makes a big difference in these guitars. It would be easy to see by looking into the F-holes.

Ok, guys, I heard back from Tom. As I was thinking, here's the details:

1967 Epiphone Casino w/ Freqensator tailpiece, rest is stock with the black knobs and nickel hardware. His backup is a newere Epi Dot in natural.

Daniel was using the 330 a lot, but I think from what I remember wanted a change for this last album. Tom and I have a plan to get him back into the fold however, something nice if it all works out.

Good spot Mitch.

Randy I think you might be right about them using the same bodies for a period - seems the most likely explaination.

Jeff - thanks for the info. I hope the plan succeeds! And if it does and Daniel wants to sell his casino....

I bought a Casino!I just couldn't resist this Cherry Red MIK model because it was priced BIN at $399 w/OHSC.You think that is a good deal?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/casino.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/casino2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/casino3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/casino4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v228/fuzztone65/casino5.jpg

Mitch: That's exactly what I paid for my Cherry MIK Casino. They are very nice guitars and can be even better with a few mods and proper set-up.

Mitch are there any more of those available?

Thanks for the posts guys.Unfortunatly this is the only one.It is a 2001,I have been watching Casinos on Ebay for about a year waiting for one with a case to come along at the right price and this was it.My girlfriend is gonna kill me.

That was a great deal. I have been looking for one for about three years now. I must have missed that beauty. I am glad it found a good home.

The GF will get over it BTW